Administration of consultant design projects, Consultant Design Section, Montana Department of Transportation : performance audit PDF
Preview Administration of consultant design projects, Consultant Design Section, Montana Department of Transportation : performance audit
S Montana* 352*538 Legislative Audit L72acd Division 1986 Administration o± consultant design projects* Consultant Lgsls.ii Legislative Audit Division State ofMontana Report to the Legislature Performance Audit December 1996 "Stare documents collection mi 1 6 Montana state library 1515 E. 6th AVE. HELENA, MONTANA 59620 Administration of Consultant Design Projects Consultant Design Section Montana Department of Transportation This report contains recommendations for improving how the department administers consultant design projects. These recommendations address: *- The consultant selection process including contract negotiations and local government projects. * Management controls over the contract supplement process. The process to establish project schedules and to more actively manage consultant projects. - . •"-' v JLm , ;. -; '•> > : i i ' Direct comments/inquiries to: Legislative Audit Division Room 135, State Capitol PO Box 201705 MT 96P-07 Helena 59620-1705 MONTANASTATELIBRARY 3 0864 0009 9245 6 PERFORMANCE AUDITS Performance audits conducted by the Legislative Audit Division are designed to assess state government operations. From the audit work, a determination is made as to whether agencies and programs are accomplishing their purposes, and whether they can do so with greater efficiency and economy. Inperforming the audit work, the audit staffuses audit standards set forth by the United States General Accounting Office. Members ofthe performance audit staffhold degrees in disciplines appropriate to the audit process. Areas ofexpertise include business and public administration, statistics, economics, computer science, communications, and engineering. Performance audits are performed at the request ofthe Legislative Audit Committee which is a bicameral and bipartisan standing committee ofthe Montana Legislature. The committee consists ofsix members ofthe Senate and six members ofthe House ofRepresentatives. MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDIT COMMITTEE SenatorGreg Jergeson, Vice Chairman Representative ErnestBergsagel, Chairman Senator SueBartlett RepresentativeBeverly Barnhart SenatorReiny Jabs Representative A. R. "Toni" Hagener SenatorTomKeating Representative Bob Keenan SenatorKenMiller Representative RobertPavlovich SenatorLinda Nelson Representative Bruce Simon MONTANA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Legislative Auditor ^^hTk Deputy Le8islative Auditors: 3r,C6WAa. oneacar zg'=I -' iggZjF„\ MaOrpyeBrratyisoonns and EDPAudit Legal Counsel: ElBwlJ^ISfe Financial-Compliance Audit John Northey NIS&I^tS/ Jim Pellegrini Nre^plS^lp^ Performance Audit LEGISLATIVE AUDIT DIVISION December 1996 The Legislative Audit Committee ofthe Montana State Legislature: We conducted a performance audit ofthe process the Department ofTransportation uses to administer consultant design projects. This report contains recommendations for strengthening management controls over the consultant design process. A response from the Department ofTransportation is contained at the end ofthe report. We wish to express our appreciation to the staffofthe Department ofTransportation for their cooperation and assistance. Respectf^ly submitted, ^e!r"\ Room 135, StateCapitol Building, PO Box 201705 Helena, MT 59620-1705 Phone (406)444-3122 FAX (406)444-9784 Digitized by the Internet Archive 2013 in http://archive.org/details/adininistrationof08mont Legislative Audit Division Performance Audit Administration of Consultant Design Projects Consultant Design Section Montana Department of Transportation Members ofthe audit staffinvolved in this audit were Joe Murray and Jim Nelson. Table of Contents List ofTables iii Appointed and Administrative Officials iv Report Summary S-l Chapter I - Introduction Introduction 1 Audit Objectives 1 Audit Scope and Methodology 1 Compliance 2 . MDT Chapter II - Background Uses Consultants for a Variety ofServices 3 Why Does the MDT Use Consultants? 3 What are MDT's Responsibilities Related to Consultant Design Projects? 4 Consultant Design Section 4 Road Designs are the Most Common Type ofDesign 4 How Does the MDT Hire a Consultant? 5 Preliminary Field Review 6 CDS Establishes a "Short List" ofConsultants 6 Final Selection 7 Contract Negotiations 7 Contract Monitoring 8 Summary 8 Chapter III - Consultant Introduction 9 Selection Limited Effort Placed on Contract Negotiations 9 Cost Estimates Not Always Completed 10 CDS Does Not Document How Estimates Are Done 10 Other States Have a More Defined Process 11 Why Do Weaknesses Exist? 11 Selection Criteria 12 Significant Emphasis Placed on Past Performance 12 Formal Evaluations ofConsultants Not Completed 13 Formally Evaluate Past Performance 13 Page i Table of Contents State Law Requires Consultant Location be Considered .... 14 Nature ofProject Determines Whether Location Should be Considered 14 Consultant Selection for City and County Projects 15 Consultant Selection Procedures for City and County Projects not Always Followed 15 MDT The is Responsible for Ensuring Selection Procedures are Followed 16 MDT Should Establish Controls Over Local Government Projects 17 Chapter IV - Contract Introduction 19 Supplements Why do Supplements Occur? 19 Controls Over Supplements Must be Improved 20 Procedures and Federal Regulations for Approving Supplements not Followed 21 Limited Evidence Supplements are Negotiated 22 Why do Weaknesses Exist in Approving Supplements? .... 22 MDT Management Needs More Involvement 23 Chapter V - Project Introduction 25 Administration Project Schedules 25 Consultant Designs are not Assigned Realistic Schedules ... 26 Project Management System 26 MDT Believes PMS Should be Used 27 Project Management 27 Several Concerns Identified Related to Project Management 28 Projects not Actively Managed 29 Projects Generally have Ineffective Communication and Coordination 29 Other States use More Active Management 29 Active Management Requires Four Steps 30 Agency Response Montana Department ofTransportation 35 Page ii List of Tables Table 1 Active Consultant Design Projects September 1996 Page 5 Page iii Appointed and Administrative Officials Department of Marvin Dye, Director Transportation Gary Gilmore, Administrator, Engineering Division Carl Peil, Preconstruction Engineer, Preconstruction Bureau Doug Morgan, Preconstruction Design Engineer, Preconstruction Bureau Sam Naseem, Consultant Design Engineer, Consultant Design Section Page iv
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